A craftsman whose surname might suggest a Huguenot origin. The earliest references to a John ‘Belcher’ are to be found in the accounts of Boughton House, Northants. Between 1687 and 1710 amounts totalling £3,880 are recorded for glass, solder, piping,…

Cornhill London; upholder, cabinet maker and glass grinder(1755–97)

Son of George Kemp of Ramsgate, Kent, mariner. Father of Matthew Kemp and George Kemp jnr, both members of the Upholders’ Co. George Kemp snr was made free of the Upholders’ Co. by redemption under the terms of the 1750 Upholders’ Act on 28 August 1755.…

Bridge St Row, Chester; cabinet maker and upholder(1802–27)

Listed also at Commercial Buildings in 1816. Free 3 July 1802. Subscribed to Sheraton's Cabinet Dictionary, 1803. Developed an extensive business and in 1815 claimed to be employing workmen from Gillows, and Tatham & Co., London. In that…

Aldersgate St, London; cabinet maker(1753–1868)

The firm of Seddon was the largest furniture-making firm in London in the last quarter of the 18th century when it employed more people, held more extensive stocks and produced a wider-range of goods than any other furnituremaking business It remained of…